I would also recommend this loader for anyone that has pain in the wrists or hands since it requires minimum force to use and is easy to gain leverage on.

This doesn’t have anything to do with the function of the Uplula, but we wanted to share it with you anyways – the…mascot? of the Maglula Uplula is a weird…thumb…person…thing…

Thumb…person…thing…

It’s not that you needed to know that, but we saw it and thought we’d share the mental scarring.

The face we made when we first saw it.

What’s your take on the Maglula?

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2. Caldwell Universal Pistol Magazine Loader

The amount of engineering that went into the Caldwell Magazine Loader is nothing short of impressive.

Caldwell Universal Pistol Magazine Loader

Caldwell is known for making great gear and their magazine loader keeps that tradition alive. It isn’t as intuitive as the Uplula, but once you see how the bits work it is easy to use.

Set the spacer for your magazine (instructions are provided with the loader), insert the magazine, tighten the set screw, and simply load each round into the window before using the staple-Slickgun like handle to load the round into the magazine.

This is really handy if you have limited space, such as at a training class, a busy range, or a competition event. Since the Caldwell loader doesn’t require the use of a table or bench to brace yourself on, this is easy to use just standing and loading.

The handle is also large enough that it provides a ton of leverage making the squeeze much easier than one might expect.

3. ETS CAM Universal Speed Loader

Loading one round at a time can be a fairly speedy process once you get used to it, but it is limited by the fact that it is still only one round at a time.

Enter the ETS CAM Speed Loader.

Able to load a full magazine at a time the ETS combines the use of your ammo boxes with your loader to make the process a LOT faster.

Use the tray to slide over the cartridges while they are sitting in your ammo box to pre-load them and set them inplace over your magazine.

Use the provided T-Handle to then push and guide the rounds down into your magzine.

This takes more force than other loaders and it’s a bit hard to get the right leverage when using a table. We actually found that employing a seppuku-esq style of bracing the magazine against the sternum and pulling the T-Handle to the body actually worked better than trying to brace it all on the table.

While not a very comfortable way of using the ETS CAM, it was effective.

Besides, bruises are good for you.

And if you’re cool enough to wear a plate carrier while loading your magazines, you wouldn’t feel a thing!

If you really want speed or you’re trying to load large capacity magazines, the ETS CAM really does save a lot of time over some of the other methods.

4. MagPump

We only had one problem with the MagPump – it broke the first time we tried to use it…

After watching the 5.56 version of the MagPump in action at competition events and media range days, we can say first hand that it can work very well. But sadly, the 9mm version we tried to test broke the first time we tried pumping the handle.

One pump and SNAP, the MagPump was dead.

It is unlikely that this was user error and not a lot of force was used when pumping the lever. This was likely a defect in the manufacturing that manifested itself when we tried to use the lever.

If we get our hands on a new one, we’ll give it another test. But based on this result so far – we can’t really recommend it for anything.

Parting Shots

There are a lot of other magazine loaders on the market and we’ll be testing more eventually, but of the ones we’ve tested – the winner was clearly the Maglula Uplula. Simple, easy to use, and minimal moving parts that might break down.